On September 14th, 2017, we published revised versions of our Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Website Use Policy and published a Cookie Policy. Your continued use of Lynda.com means you agree to these revised documents, so please take a few minutes to read and understand them.

…In the last movie I use something called a PDF X1A preset.…Which to me sounds more like a rocket engine than a PDF.…But what the heck does it mean?…Well, this is where we start to separate the grownups from the kids.…The pros from the pishers.…If you really want to make great PDF files, you have to…understand how the PDF file format deals with colors and transparency.…And this is slightly technical, but please bear with me, hear me out,…because this is one of the most important concepts when making a PDF file.…

And far too few people understand it.…If you have any transparency in your document,…and I'm talking a drop shadow or a place…PSD file with layers, or any of a…dozen different transparency effects that you might choose from.…If there's any transparency in your document, then you need to…consider if, or when, that transparency is going to be flattened.…Flattening, is the process of turning objects that…are transparent, into objects that look transparent, but aren't.…As long as it's digital, on screen, you can leave something transparent forever.…

Resume Transcript Auto-Scroll

Author

Released

6/27/2014

Making a PDF: it seems like such an easy thing, but it's the way you make the PDF and the settings you choose that make a huge difference in quality, not to mention whether your printer will accept or reject your file. Learn everything you need to know to create a great print PDF with Adobe InDesign from insider David Blatner. David covers terminology, destination considerations, transparency flattening, and Adobe's large selection of presets. Once you have the basics out of the way, he'll show you how to optimize your PDFs for print and address common scenarios PDF designers face, like converting text to outlines and creating PDFs for email.

Topics include:

Comparing the Export vs. Distiller workflows

Using Adobe PDF presets

Adjusting image compression

Creating a hybrid print/screen PDF

Keeping your PDF file size small

Batching exporting PDFs

Skill Level Intermediate

1h 16m

Duration

70,221

Views

Show MoreShow Less

Q: Why can't I open the exercise files?

A: If you cannot open the files, try the IDML file, as David explains in the third movie of the course.